Himitsu na Bunshin
by balinase2
Summary: Naruto is lonely. he craves for someone to hold him and love him. who will it be? And how will his temporary solution aid him? NaruGaara rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Himitsu na Bunshin**

Chapter 1

The room was cold. Its owner found this strange since it was the hottest time of the year. He shifted again but still couldn't sleep. He moved again to lie on his back, facing the moon-lit space of his room, and sighed a long breath. This was getting nowhere. No matter how much he tried, no matter what pose he tried, he still couldn't sleep. And the chill he felt around him frustrated him even further.

But he knew the reason to all that.

It was the loneliness.

Even though it wasn't like in the old days when he had no friends, he still felt lonely nowadays. During day-time, everything was fine – he laughed and messed around with his friends, and even hit on Sakura a few times. Everything was fine. Yet, when night came and everybody went to their homes and families and maybe even their boy/girlfriend, he felt that loneliness creeping over him. The steps he took towards his empty apartment were heavy. He felt a chill tingling on his skin and stabbing him in the heart. He wanted someone to come and shield him from that chill with a hug. But no one came.

He needed somebody.

But he was all alone.

Naruto sighed again. He couldn't understand it. What's this feeling? Why now? Why did he need it so much that it kept him awake at night?... Why did it leave such a horrible void in him?... His hand absent-mindedly moved to touch his stomach. The whirl-crest he knew was there made the skin hotter. So he withdrew it and left the hand hanging off the edge of the bed.

He looked up at the empty ceiling, and let moments pass. The bed beneath him felt so big and spacious in contrast to his small lean form on it. It had too much room for just one person. It told him too that there was someone else needed there.

He turned over angrily and pulled the thin cover over him.

"There isn't much choice, is there?" He asked himself in a sad tone. He sighed again and put his fingers together to perform the seals. "Himitsu na bunshin no jutsu." (Secret shadow-clone technique).

A puff of smoke appeared under the blanket, and revealed another Naruto as it faded. The new Naruto sat up, bringing the covers off the real Naruto. He smiled down at his creator and waited for him to speak. The blond boy that was still lying on his side smiled weakly at him and whispered a small 'hi'.

Despite looking like a normal kage-bunshin or a simple bunshin, the Himitsu na bunshin was different. It was Naruto's invention as a cause from the loneliness that killed him at the recent nights. The himitsu-na-bunshin was different in two basic things – chakra and mind. It still depended on the creator's chakra; which meant that if it performed a jutsu, the chakra for it would be taken from the one who summoned it, unlike clones from the bunshin techniques. And while bunshins from other techniques had no independent mind and were all connected to the source, the himitsu na bunshin had its own consciousness, and worked on its own mind. Naruto speculated it was actually the subconscious part of his mind in that clone. That was why there were times he argued with the new Naruto, disagreeing on certain things. And that was the reason for its secrecy – because nobody would want to hear about a bunshin that disagrees with you.

However, there was another reason it was so secretive – its real purpose.

The blond boy, lost in his angst, yearned for someone who could give him love, unconditional love, like a parent. He needed to be held and patted. So he created this bunshin, and the bunshin transformed into the closest thing he got to that kind of thing – to the people who felt fatherly to him – Iruka-sensei or Kakashi-sensei. There were times he even made the other Naruto transform into an imaginary figure he thought his mom would look like, with wavy blond hair and soft blue eyes, and a pair of red lips to kiss the top of his head. The bunshin suggested Tsunade-baachan as the motherly figure, after recalling her warm kiss on his forehead when Naruto and Jiraiya had come to take her back to Konoha, but Naruto refused fearing of the freaky-lady's reaction if she ever found out.

"I…" Naruto began, looking away from the replica. At times like this, he hated his own image. He was pathetic, and the himitsu-na-bunshin only showed just how much. "…I need love. Real love… I need…" but he couldn't finish the sentence; he didn't know how to explain it. It was impossible to explain such a void in one's heart.

Luckily, it was himself he was talking to, and the other knew exactly what he was talking about.

There was a new puff of smoke and the bunshin changed its form to a pretty pale-eyed girl with short blue hair. "Naruto-kun?" Hinata called him with her tiny voice. But Naruto refused, dismissing the girl as weird and not right for the moment.

Hinata made a disappointed expression before transforming into the pretty pink-haired Haruno Sakura. As the misty smoke around her faded, the blond boy became more nervous. "No way." He said lowly. "I would never use her like that. It's indecent." Although Naruto's nature was often described as wild and perverted, he still had respect for people, especially if they meant something to him. Sakura was his first love, true; but she was also a friend he didn't want to dishonor.

The bunshin changed back to its original form, his face wearing a distressed look, which was soon mirrored by the one who made him. Going through his mind, he had another idea and he changed again.

"Naruto." A low voice called out to the boy still lying on the large bed. The dull blue eyes moved slowly to see who it was this time. The voice didn't sound feminine at all. And truly, the figure there wasn't female, but a rather harsh male. Dark black eyes stared back at Naruto, framed by pale skin and black hair. It looked misty and blue in the dim light of the silvery moon. He sat there on his knees, like a wise elder.

"Yeah right…" Naruto almost snorted, curling on his bed to an embryo-like position. "Like Sasuke's ever gonna care for me… All he does is call me stupid and dobe, patronize me, and then walk off like nothing happened…" He sighed and hoped the bunshin wouldn't try to talk again with Sasuke's voice. It pissed him off just to hear his voice, just for the habit of hearing that voice call him things he didn't like.

"Is there really nobody out there for me?" Naruto asked, turning his face to the pillow with the intent to drown himself in it. He thought about it not once – killing himself. Although it would look stupid - the wildest punk in Konoha, the one who always held onto life so hard and made everybody in the village acknowledge his existence whether they liked it or not, the one with the wildest biggest smile ever, suddenly committing suicide and vanishing – despite all that, he still felt like it was a necessity during these long lonely nights.

The puff next to him didn't even distract him from his train of thoughts, but the absolute silence that followed did. He dared a glance from the corner of his eye. A kanji, written in thin streaks of crimson over plain white surface, reading the word "Love", met his blue eye. Ironic, Naruto chuckled as he closed his eyes. He shifted again on the bed, the sheets gathering around him like water. He opened his eyes once more, taking in more of the figure the himitsu-na-bunshin had chosen.

Matching red hair fell on top of the symbol. The short bangs of hair ended right above a pair of sea foam green eyes, accented in their paleness by black lining around them. With a small nose and mouth and plain white skin, the boy's face looked like the face of a fragile china doll.

"Gaara."

He said the boy's name as he turned to lie on his back again. The said boy looked down at Naruto, his eyes clear of any emotions. He sat there quietly, dressed in the clone's pajama which was one or two sizes too big on him. Gaara was skinnier than Naruto, therefore the clothes were unfitting and slipped off, exposing a pale shoulder.

The logic of it was perfect. Gaara was like him, suffered for the demon inside him like him, lived in solitude just the same, and every time the blond came to think of him or see him on a rare occasion he felt a connection. There was a mysterious bond between them.

Even now, when it was only his replica wearing the redhead's form, Naruto could feel it.

The fake redhead slipped into the bed beside the blond.

As he did so, Naruto felt heat spreading across every place in his body that came in proximity with the other's body. Gaara lay close to him, so their noses were only an inch away. It was quite an intimate proximity, and it would have unnerved the blue-eyed boy, had he not been the one asking for it. Their eyes met and for a long moment they just stared at each other. Naruto felt a sort of weakness in his heart. There it was again – the pain of loneliness in those dull green eyes. Was it because it was his replica wearing Gaara's form, or was that the pain he remembered seeing there? He could not tell; and the more pain he saw there, the more he couldn't look away.

In a few minutes, his eyes were falling shut. The last thing he felt before falling asleep was the movement of limbs not his own around him, moving to wrap around him, taking him into the embrace he longed for.

Naruto at last fell asleep.

On the next day, Naruto felt much better, and everybody could see it. His grin became even wider, and something in his eyes made the ocean blue hue seem deeper and clearer than ever. Also, when evening came, it didn't sadden him like it had any night before. His apartment didn't seem so lonely anymore.

A genuine smile graced his lips as he walked home. It was the smallest of smiles, but it carried great significance.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Himitsu na Bunshin**_

Chapter 2

Staring at the wall in front of him, the blond was listening to the two sets of breathing. He was awake again in the middle of the night. This time it was not the loneliness that kept him up restless in his bed, but quite the opposite. 

It had been three weeks since that first night with the Gaara-bunshin, and he had come to use that secret technique increasingly. Before that night, he had used it as often as once or twice a month. However, after that night, he summoned it more often than he thought was healthy. At first it was every three nights, but as time passed he needed it more, and it became an every-night procedure. Why did he need it so much? How did he become so addicted to the feel of a presence next to him? It couldn't have been the other's warmth, because as foreign as it was, coming from another body, it was still the heat of his own body being felt from a duplication of himself. What was it that got him craving for it every night?

Still lost in his musing, he found himself holding a pale hand, stroking the back of that hand tenderly with his thumb. The one whose hand belonged to had felt the change in Naruto's spirit, and pulled the boy closer to him, hugging him closer. Naruto sighed. It felt good.

"Why?"

The question hung in the air of the room, unanswered. He closed his eyes and turned around in the half-embrace, opening his eyes again to stare straight at the one now in front of him, asking him again. "Why is it... Gaara...?"

Gaara didn't answer, yet the mark on his forehead did. Ocean blue eyes moved away from the mark, falling into sea foam green eyes, and the question that was forming in his mind was answered. He could see his reflection in those pain-tinted eyes, literally and emotionally.

He couldn't help but wonder though – had it been Sakura-chan there, played out by his bunshin, would he have felt the same? Probably yes. She also radiated warmth and good feelings; and if she hugged him, it would feel nice too. 'If she hugged me…' Naruto thought sadly. She never really saw him that way. Of course he never gave up. He loved her watery green eyes, and red hair…

No, not red…

That's… that's Gaara's…

Strange… they both had green eyes, but Gaara's eyes were different. They were hollow and hurt, ones that saw too many painful things, ones that knew solitude by its worst level. Sakura's were nothing like that. She never suffered of loneliness, and the only time she was hated and outcast was when other girls had told her she was ugly.

She didn't have eyes like his. She didn't have eyes like Gaara's.

Those deep orbs of green, like two drops of fresh dew on grass, both were still trained at him.

Blushing slightly, he sat up, coming into the direct light of the moon. It was a full moon, and the light streaming in through the window glared at him with bright rays. He wanted to look outside to the stars as he always did when he had something on his mind, but obviously that wasn't going to happen.

"What I'm saying is..." He tried to explain himself; to whom he wasn't sure. God, even the words were hard to put together, not to mention voice them out. He took a deep, still not facing his Gaara. "Am I… Am I in love with you, Gaara?"

_Pale green eyes narrowed. He managed to understand the question, but the name in the end... Naruto said his name...?_

The Gaara next to him sat up as well, leveling their faces together. He was silent for a while, seeming a bit confused. Finally, he said, "There's only one way to find out..."

His gaze met with Gaara's again and he inched closer and closer towards him. When their noses touched, Naruto had to fight not to visibly shiver. When their lips came in contact, he couldn't deny it anymore. He trembled all over as he shared a first true kiss with his Gaara-disguised bunshin. It was a small kiss, just a small pressing of lips, but it felt good enough for his body to react with yet another deep blush and the slow drop of his eyelids.

When they parted, remaining at short distance from each other, they were both flushed and slightly dizzy. Naruto felt his lips spasming, already craving for that sweet touch again. He licked his lips unconsciously as he looked back up into those jade eyes, diving into the clear green sea and white beaches he saw there, a promise of salvation and serenity. His hand was already coming up to the pale boy's chin, bringing them once again into a wonderful kiss.

Shy shifts and slides of pink lips were making the kiss even more precious and sweet in the blond's mind. He let himself be swept by it, despite the distant knowledge it was actually himself. Running his calloused fingers up to the redhead's cheek, he gently advanced and made the kiss a little deeper, sucking and nibbling on the other boy's lower lip, silently asking him for access.

_Gaara stiffened. He was lost in that unreal feel of that mouth against his. He could hardly resist bringing his hand up to touch it, touch that sensation playing over his lips. He wanted to taste it more. It felt so amazing and yet so confusing. Even in his hazed mind, he still wondered how it could be. How could he feel these wonderful sensations and feather touches Naruto was making him feel? How could he sense his caress on his skin? How could he, when he was still here, on the roof across from his apartment? He was himself, standing here, and yet there was another Gaara over there with Naruto. Which of them was he? Was he feeling what the other Gaara was feeling? Was he maybe over there and not here?_

_He continued to watch the blond through his window, still hidden in the full moon's bright rays, as the blond kissed him deeper and caressed him more. Naruto's hand roamed so gently over the skin of his neck. He could clearly see how those tanned fingers glided over him, straying in the expanse of his bare flesh. The blond turned them over on the large bed, now lying on top of him, loving him with his mouth and hands. He smoothed one hand up and down Gaara's side, making him arch and gasp. Naruto lapped those parted lips with his tongue before dipping into the redhead's mouth. _

_Gaara moaned unconsciously; felt heat rising to his cheeks. The hand he had forbidden touching his mouth a moment before, still managed to come up and trace the burning sensation dancing on his lips. He wanted to touch it, wanted to feel that sensation and know it for real. _

_He wanted..._

_An idea bloomed in his mind. He nodded to himself. Now, all he had to do was to wait. So he did, his eyes never leaving the boy who made him daydream about spring-time and love. _

* * *

A/N: Ohhh!! I loved writing this chapter so much. I hope you loved reading it too. For some reason, when I wrote the kiss, I kept hearing that song "Kissing you" by Desree in my head. I think it suits it. I'll love you forever if you review me, ne! 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hello dear readers, and thank you for reading this, and thanks to all the reviewers! Love you!

I'm really sorry it took me so long to update. It was really hard writing it and I suppose it will only get harder (hehehe). I hope the next update wouldn't take so long. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter and don't forget to review! I'll give you a cookie if you do!!

Special thanks to my dear friend Anna-chan, for supporting me and beta-ing this chapter. She was rewarded with a special double chocolate german cheesecake.

* * *

**_Himitsu na Bunshin 3_**

Naruto slowly woke up as the first rays of sunlight caressed his face. The warm beams filled his room and illuminated the pale figure in front of him. His ocean blue eyes slowly revealed themselves as the lids opened like a curtain before a magnificent show. It was obvious he had slept well that night. He made a small purring sound as he nuzzled his pillow and blinked a few times to clear his vision. It made the redhead smile. Only then did the blond see him, looking at him with those blue orbs. Warm, the redhead decided, they were warm.

All in all, Naruto always felt like a big sun to him. All his memories of the blond had been from sunny days and warm breezes. So much unlike himself, always seeming to connect more with the moon. Most of his memories of himself were of the lonely nights he had spent on rooftops, when his mind had been replaying things he didn't want to remember from the day-time. The most important events of his life happened during night-time - talks with Yashamaru about love, the time he tried to assassinate him, the time he carved the mark on his forehead, even his fight against akatsuki. All the most important events in his life happened during the night; all except one - his fight against Naruto, the fight that changed his life was when the sun was high up in the sky.

How odd and beautiful - Naruto was the sun, and he was the moon.

Naruto blinked again and looked at him. If it was possible, Gaara would say his eyes became warmer. He smiled at the redhead and said with a sleep-roughed voice "Hi"  
Gaara made a small smile and answered with the same short word.

A minute passed like that, both boys saying nothing and just gazing into each other's beaming face.

However, Naruto's beaming, smiling face suddenly turned into shock and what seemed like panic. "Eh?" he mumbled before jumping out of bed, pointing at Gaara with full-out panic. "EEEEEEEHHHHH?!"

The redhead winced before him at the loud screeching sound of Naruto's freaked out voice, still husky though. Much like the sun when it got too hot and caused sun-burns, Naruto had his bad moments.

"W-W-W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE??" He asked, although he never waited for an answer from the redhead. "Y-Y-You shouldn't be here!! How the hell did this happen?? You usually disappear after I fall asleep!!"

Gaara tilted his head. Was that what happened last night? He had seen the Gaara sleeping next to Naruto before sneaking in, but when he did, the Gaara was no longer there.

"AAAAHH!! What am I going to do?!" He looked to various directions, as if looking for something to cover the redhead, then turned to the redhead again. "Just-Just 'poof' yourself away!... Go on, do it!!"

"'Poof myself away'?" Gaara asked, not quite sure what the other meant.

Naruto gawked at him, blinked a few times, then started screaming again, mumbling incoherent things in his panic. "Oh my god, OH MY GOD! Okay! I'll dispel you myself!!" He quickly performed a few hand-seals and at the last seal closed his eyes and yelled "Dispel!"

Gaara watched quite irately as the blond waited with his eyes closed for something. When he cracked one eye open, and saw that the redhead was still there, he closed it back and focused harder on something. Another moment passed. Gaara began to think he might have been wrong about the other boy's feelings about him. When the boy cracked his eyes open again, and still saw the redhead there, he reverted back to his panicked self.

"OHMYGOSHITDIDN'TWORK!! Oh no! What if Kakashi-sensei comes here and sees this!! I'M SO DOOMED!! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST GO AWAY??"

The last sentence echoed in the spacious room of Naruto's bedroom. It felt harsh and hurtful even in his own ears. Yet, even so, the wince he saw on his bunshin's features alarmed him. His own bunshin wouldn't be so phased by his voice or words. His bunshin wouldn't bite his lip and look away as he did right then before his eyes. It only then hit him, though the notion still hadn't quite registered in his mind. He gulped before asking in an unsure voice, "Gaara?... Are you... the real Gaara?..."

Deep jade eyes slowly moved up to meet deep sapphire ones.

The hysteria in Naruto's feature faded, a look of shock taking its place. He stared at him with eyes as wide as saucers. There was a small flicker of his eyes, as he noticed Gaara was shirtless, wearing only his long black pants. It seemed to finally reach his mind - he was staring directly at the real Gaara, half naked right there in front of him. From the way his lips were parted and the slight move of his jaw up and down, it seemed the blond wanted to say something but couldn't put it together. He was about to say something, Gaara noticed as a small creak of Naruto's voice came out, when suddenly a strong knock on his door interrupted.

Naruto gave a small yelp of surprise. "Crap! It's probably Kakashi-sensei. Hide!"

The blond motioned for Gaara to hide somewhere as he walked to the door and tried to calm himself.

He swung the door open to reveal a silver-haired man leaning against the door-frame with an orange book in his hand. Kakashi pulled back from his reading of the book and turned his attention to his old-time student. "Yo! Good morning, Naruto."

Naruto laughed nervously. "Haha, good morning, Kakashi-sensei! W-What are you doing here so early in the morning?"

Kakashi gave him a long inquiry look. "I heard you screaming and came to check up on you."

The blond pouted. It was rather obvious that wasn't the reason why the old pervert was here. "I-I woke up with a huge spider on my face. It was really big! and hairy! It scared the crap out of me!!" He instantly regretted saying it and berated himself for making up the lamest excuse ever; and for a great ninja like him to be screaming because of a spider, the shame was even greater. A sheepish smile stretched on his lips in an attempt to ease the heavy questioning gaze he was receiving from his superior.

Gaara grunted in disapproval. He knew the blond meant no harm, but he couldn't help the thought of Naruto comparing him to that spider. After all, he woke up with their faces close up. Shaking his head, he pushed that thought away. Maybe he should leave, slip out while the two konoha ninjas were at the door talking.

That plan was crushed as Kakashi's sharp senses alerted him, hearing a small grunt and rustling noises from beyond Naruto's large bed. The silver haired man advanced towards it cautiously, slightly frightening his former student, though the reasons for the boy's fear were different from what the man had assumed. When he came pretty close and noticed a movement just there behind the bed, another Naruto sprang before him, holding a rag in his hand. "Hi Kakashi-sensei!" Came the cheerful voice, yet something was wrong. Kakashi knew bunshins tended to be rather emotionless, but this one felt different.

"Naruto, why do you have a bunshin here so early in the morning?" He asked, scanning the blond in front of him with his lone visible eye.

"It's cleaning day." The one in front of him answered when the one behind him failed to answer right away.

"I decided to clean up the place after meeting that awful spider." The blond behind Kakashi continued. "I thought I would do it faster if I had another pair of hands to help me."

The leader of team seven turned around to meet a brilliant smile as Naruto laughed nervously while scratching the back of his head. He sighed and went back to his usual lazy posture. "Listen, Naruto. There's another reason why I came here. The Kazekage and his siblings came here two days ago for a few meetings with the Hokage, but last night the Kazekage went missing and now we can't find him. We are gathering as much personnel for search parties. Get ready to move and join us at the Hokage building."

"Hai. I'll get there as soon as I can."

Kakashi nodded and made his way to the exit. "Oh and Naruto," He said glancing at the blond staring at him intently. "Leave the cleaning for later, and stop making clones for stupid reasons like that."

Naruto laughed sheepishly again, scratching the back of his neck. He approached the door and closed it behind his sensei.

His smile faded and he returned his attention to the boy who had now changed back to his own image.

"How long?" He asked quietly, asking Gaara for how long the redhead had known about this. He couldn't face him yet.

"Since last night."

Naruto looked over his shoulder at the redhead. "How much did you see?"

His eyes flickered to the blond's exposed tanned back before retuning to wander off in the space of the apartment. He remembered every motion of that muscled back from last night, the way it bathed in the pale light of the moon as Naruto moved over him, kissed him and made out with him. He remembered every muscle flexing and laxing, every curve and every angle in the sculpted body, every curvature and relief of his back as the boy sighed in pleasure, releasing the same reaction from both the redheads. Last night when he had seen this and decided to exchange places with the other him, he didn't know it would be so difficult to stand here in front of the blond right now.

"I see," Naruto said, breaking the tense silence that took over the room. His eyes fell to the floor beside him. "So you saw the whole thing..." Dear god, he never wanted Gaara to find out, not like this. Leaving his embarrassment aside, what he did probably hurt the redhead - first for seeing Naruto making out with him, and second for the way he acted few minutes ago as he screamed at him and told him to go away.

A strange noise startled him, forcing him out of his thoughts and back to the person who was their subject. Gaara, already clad in his many robes, collected his sand back into the form of his gourd, and quickly climbed to the window when it finished.

"Gaara, wait!" Naruto erupted, his voice still hoarse from sleep and screaming earlier.

Gaara looked back at him, crouching on the edge of the window ready to leap. His face was emotionless, but his eyes wavered slightly. It gave Naruto a way to read the redhead. Anger, confusion, impatience, and most of all - pain, those were the emotions he could understand from the small flicker in those pale green eyes. He could feel those emotions too. The anger he felt, of course, directed at himself, for being such an asshole. He didn't have to scream at him like a maniac to go away. Gaara must be feeling rather unwanted here right now. Judging from his position on the window and the way he looked back at him over his shoulder, it was true - he really felt like that, and that saddened and angered the blond even more.

"I have to go." Gaara said coldly, readying his body to take the three-story jump. "They're looking for me."

Naruto gathered all his wits and courage, and called out to Gaara, once again stopping him from going outside. "Gaara!... at least, when you're done with them... when you're done dealing with them and with Tsunade-baachan... will you come back?... please?"

After a long intent stare, Gaara nodded. Naruto hadn't had enough time to respond before Gaara jumped out of his window.

Naruto could hear the immediate exclaims of the Suna men as they spotted their Kazekage approaching them.

* * *

The sun was already high up in the middle of the sky. It was noon. Naruto took a break from his training, resting in the shadow of an old thick tree. The wind ruffled the trees' leaves as well as his blond hair. The grass tickled the tips of his toes as they stuck out of his sandals. He didn't laugh and enjoy it like many times before, though. No... His mind was elsewhere, somewhere far. It made him score much less in his training, which was why he hadn't gone for a fresh bowl of ramen as soon as break-time started. One could say he simply left his mind at home; and it would be the truth. His mind was still back in his apartment, still stuck on those aquamarine eyes wavering as they looked back at him.

He dropped his face into his hands again. A soft murmur graced his lips over and over. Stupid stupid stupid stupid...

"Naruto?"

His blond head shot up at the voice.

"I knew I would find you here." She chirped as she walked towards him. The heels of her boots didn't make a sound as they sank into the soft grass. They didn't knock and click like they always did as she walked through the streets. The wind moved her skirt, revealing a bit more of her smooth legs. It always made him smirk pervertedly, always turned him on for a few seconds before she smacked him. However, that was not the case this time. His eyes returned to look down sadly at the grass between his sprawled legs. He didn't even bother to look up and return the smile he knew she had on her face. She asked him if he wanted to train with her. He didn't respond.

"Naruto? What's wrong?" She asked, catching his attention with her hand on his shoulder.

He looked up at her, only to meet a pair of green eyes. He looked away, it was the wrong pair of green eyes.

He sighed and tilted his head back to rest against the tree's hard skin. "Sakura-chan... What if... What if you saw someone kissing someone who looked like you?'

Sakura stared at him surprised for a moment before finally shrugging. "It would be a strange coincidence. I wouldn't give it much thought."

"No, I mean - What if that someone looked a lot like you? Like it was intentionally like this?"

The pink haired girl stared at him once again. A scowl formed on her face and Naruto barely dodged the fist thrown at him. "Narutooo," She growled, "What the hell are you planning?"

Naruto, still tense from the sudden jump he had to perform, watched the tree he leaned on just seconds ago fall to the side. "What the hell did you do that for? I was just asking you--...ah, forget it. I'm going home."

Sakura gawked at his retreating back. She had never seen Naruto act so strange. He actually looked depressed. She had never seen him depressed, not even when he couldn't bring Sasuke back. What could be the cause of this?

"Hmm... I wonder too." Said a familiar voice from the tree behind her.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Naruto looking depressed? The Kazekage disappearing during the night and reappearing near Naruto's place?" the smooth voice reached her as her sensei walked down from the tree he had been sitting on. "All these questions make you wonder, don't they?"

* * *

"Gaara?"

Looking up from his hands as they rested in his lap, he found the lady Hokage looking at him with concern.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine. Why did you call me by my name?"

The blond woman leaned back in her chair, looking even more concerned. "You didn't respond on the first four times I called you 'Kazekage'. Are you sure you're okay?"

Gaara looked back down at his hands. "I... I'm okay..."

"It's Naruto, isn't it?" The big breasted lady said with half a smirk, immediately getting a jade-colored glare, indicating she caught his attention. "My, you two really care for each other. He must've walked by you this morning without even saying 'Hi'. Don't worry, he's been depressed like that for the last few days. He hardly talks to people and doesn't run around and drive people mad like he always does. Although - I must admit - this morning he looked even more down... Maybe you can talk to him, and see what is wrong with him? You two seem to have a great connection between you."

Gaara gave her a long intent gaze. Was she being cynical? Was she saying those things on purpose or that she was really as clueless as she sounded?

He looked away, outside the panoramic window. It was noon and the sun was high. With its glaring rays, it hued everything in golden and orange streaks. It made him think of the blond, who was their current topic. If the sun is still up, Gaara thought, does it mean he'll change my life again? His eyes narrowed and he inwardly shook his head - he was thinking nonsense. Nothing was going to happen, because there was nothing between them in the first place. What he had seen last night meant nothing. Naruto obviously didn't want him near him. It was all just an act.

However, Naruto did ask him to come back. If he felt nothing for him, there would be no reason for him to ask the redhead to come back and meet him again. Maybe... maybe there was still a chance...

"Kazekage-sama?" Tsunade's voice reached him again. "Do you wish to postpone our meeting?"

He stared at her longly, before he murmured. "If you could excuse me..."

The red-painted lips stretched once again into a smile. "Of course. We will meet tomorrow morning, then."

The kazekage bowed and took his leave.

* * *

Naruto walked the small length of his room back and forth. He was nervous and cursed himself for it. Even when he told himself to calm down, he couldn't, and those liquid green eyes that were following his every move weren't helping. He should say something. The whole point of summoning Gaara here was that he would talk to him and explain to him all about yesterday. Right now, last night suddenly seemed so far away.

Sighing, he sat down on the bed next to the redhead. His hands clenched into fists in an attempt to stop his restless behaviour. Control yourself, he mentally screamed. Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth and hoped for some sense to come out of it.

"Look," He started. "I'm really sorry you saw it. I never wanted you to find out. I mean - not like this. I mean-"

He sighed. His words were coming out all wrong and his palms were getting sweaty. So once again he sprang up from the bed and walked around the room. "I... I just needed someone... for... you know..."

That earned him a single hairless eyebrow raising.

"No! Not for sex! That's not what I meant! I just wanted someone to cuddle with!"

"There was a lot more than 'cuddling' there."

"You're not making this any easier on me!!"

The redhead fell silent again. Naruto continued pacing back an forth. God, if he hadn't been so nervous about this, maybe he could've come up with a better explanation. Right now there were hardly any coherent thoughts in his head. Glancing at the clock on his nightstand, he cursed even more. He stopped again and faced the redhead sitting on his bed.

"It was just a dumb moment... I mean - not dumb!... It just... things got out of hand..." Naruto cursed himself again. His words were all wrong again and he was bordering lying. Things didn't get out of hand there. What happened was something he wanted. He wanted to kiss Gaara, he wanted to touch him and stroke his skin, he wanted to press his body to the redhead's so much they would meld with each other. He wanted to do all those things for a reason he couldn't voice out.

The blond sighed yet another long frustrated sigh. "I just wanted... to be... " Still, he couldn't say it. Trying to collect his thoughts and words together, he covered his face with his hands. Come on, come on, he urged himself, there must be something I can say that makes sense. His hands dropped, wiping his face before raking through the messy blond hair. As he looked at the redhead there still waiting for an answer, he felt his frustration rise and his stomach turn.

"Just go away..." He finally said.

Gaara's eyes widened in shock. "But you--"

"Go!" He barked.

Green eyes narrowed at him as the blond turned away. He was still staring at him as he turned into a puff of smoke.

Silence again.

Naruto faced the wall, slightly shivering as his bunshin faded. He stared blankly at nothing and sighed. He wanted to punch the wall, go wild, do something to knock himself out of his inner storm, but he was far too lost in thoughts and despair. The worst thing was that he missed him. He longed for his presence again, ached to feel him next to him again close, so close that the slightest touch of those pale nimble fingers could melt him. He wanted to see him, even though he was afraid of meeting him again. "...How am I ever going to explain this to him?..."

"How about starting at the beginning..." A low rich voice told him.

His ocean blue eyes widened instantly and he spun around to meet those soft sea-foam orbs looking directly at him. The name fell from his mouth like an old chant, so familiar on his lips yet so unnerving in his mind. "Gaara..."

* * *

TBC-tebbayo!!

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